London insurers face $24 mln Jackson hit-report

LONDON (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's death is expected to inflict a loss of about $24 million (14.5 million pounds) on insurers operating in the London market, trade publication the Insurance Insider reported on Friday.

The Insider said AEG Live, the promoter of a run of 50 concerts Jackson had been due to give at London's O2 arena starting on July 13, had been able to buy cancellation insurance for just three shows, limiting the market's overall exposure.

Separately, one of the participants, Lloyd's of London syndicate Talbot Underwriting reported it had maximum net exposure of less than $3 million, according to a statement issued by its parent company, Bermuda-based insurer Validus Holdings.

The company added that Talbot was not the lead insurer of the risk in the Lloyd's market.

"It looks like this might not be that significant an event," said Rakshit Ranjan, an insurance analyst at stockbroker Noble.

Earlier, a spokesman for the Lloyd's of London market said some of its members had provided insurance for the Jackson concerts, but any losses were "not likely to be significant."

Jackson, whose hits included "Billie Jean" and "Thriller," died suddenly of a heart attack on Thursday aged 50.

(Reporting by Myles Neligan; Additional reporting by Lilla Zuill in New York; editing by John Stonestreet)